1
decisive or critical, especially in the success or failure of something
crucial
a large area of elevated land that is relatively flat
plateau
Europe and Asia combined.
Eurasia
the pope and his office
papacy
a person who receives protection and land from a lord in return for loyalty and service
vassal
a dry region that receives little rainfall and cannot support much vegetation
desert
a physical feature of the Earth’s surface, such as a mountain, peninsula, or desert
landform
a place connected with a holy person or event where people go to worship
shrine
to make something regular or consistent for ease of use
the ruler in a government in which authority over the people is retained through a ruling family
monarch
able to be easily carried or moved
portable
of or relating to money
monetary
a building or group of buildings in which monks live and work
monastery
a book, document, or piece of music written by hand rather than printed
a self-sufficient estate
manor
to care for and promote the development of
to help or encourage
facilitate
a hard, shiny substance made by heating clay and used to make delicate cups, plates, and ornaments
porcelain
district under pastoral rule of a bishop
diocese
an estate of land under feudal control and service
fief
the quality of being faithful or loyal to someone, especially a king or other nobility
f
fealty
something of value that is not money, like agricultural goods
in kind
ranked one above the other according to status or authority
hierarchy
the economic relationship between peasants and lords in which peasants worked a lord’s land in exchange for some sort of payment
manorial system
a system of government in which nobles gave land to lesser nobles to govern in exchange for loyalty and military service
feudalism